


Like a Fairy Tale

by Duke_Nitro



Category: Samurai Spirits | Samurai Shodown (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Shizumaru generally doesn't have a good time, Suicidal Thoughts, probably requires more Samurai Shodown lore knowledge than the average person has
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23766358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duke_Nitro/pseuds/Duke_Nitro
Summary: Life has never really been easy for Shizumaru, but he supposes that's fitting for a demon.(takes place after Samurai Shodown II)
Kudos: 1





	Like a Fairy Tale

In the August of 1789, Shizumaru Hisame is doing what he is almost always doing: wandering aimlessly while trying to track down a demon. This time, however, he has a name to go off of... if he could remember it. It starts with an "Y", but the mind of the red-haired boy is too foggy to put in the effort of thinking of it.

It doesn't really matter to him what it's called, a demon is a demon after all, and they have no place in this world. He blankly looks over the steep ridge of the path he's walking and wonders if it's hypocritical of him to not walk off it and simply let himself fall. He doesn't know when he moved to the edge, but he _must_ have because his feet are halfway off of it. He almost wishes it was daytime just so he'd have a more beautiful view to go out on.

 _Wait!!_ , the more lucid part of his brain calls, _Don't you remember what Haohmaru said? "A demon exists in us all, it's up to you to choose to live as a human or become a demon!" and we haven't done anything even sightly demonic since then!_

"That was all in my head... he wasn't even there when I looked up," he mumbles to himself, "how do I know if that wasn't another demon trying to trick me into becoming one of them?"

_...Wouldn't he be disappointed when he finds what's left of you?_

Shizumaru gasps and stumbles backwards from the ridge, what was he doing!? He can't just let Haohmaru, and all the friends he's made along the way, down like that!

He powerwalks down the path, using an attempt to try and remember the demon's name as a distraction from, well... he's trying not to think about _that_.

_Now, what was it? Orochi? No, stupid, it starts with a "Y" so it's... Yubie? Yapapai? Yuria? Yuga!_

That was it, Yuga! Yuga the... something. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, all these demon titles blend together anyways after a while. A small smile crosses his face as he basks in the (admittedly tiny) victory of remembering what he's after this time.

Naturally, this rare contentment is cut short; two bandits suddenly jump from the bushes in an ambush, shocking him long enough for the third of the trio to bash him upside the head with a branch. Entering full panic mode, the youth unsheathes his swords and swings blindly behind him, the sword finding a home between the crook's ribs. He swiftly pulls it out, mind not fully perceiving what he's just done - he almost never does, at least not until the adrenaline wears off.

Goon #2 takes this chance to stab him in the back, but the sword that shares the boy's name quickly connects with his neck, getting stuck in the notches of his spine and spraying Shizumaru in the face with his blood. The man is still standing despite this fatal blow, so in his own state of panic he starts trying to throttle his murderer - any attempt to do damage while he still has life.

Horrifyingly enough, he really only succeeds in making sure the boy can't look away as the motions grind the sword through what's left of his spine, spraying more and more and _more and oh GOD why is this happening why why why **whY-**_

He doesn't get to watch the life leave the goon's eyes, as the last man standing yanks him away and does what thugs do best: punching and kneeing their foes.

Unfortunately for this attempted criminal, Shizumaru is significantly tougher than the average child; so after a brief struggle the man is pushed away... directly off the very ridge the boy contemplated walking off mere minutes before. Shizumaru's mild concussion caused him to stumble forward with the man, landing with his head hanging over the cliff.

He doesn't have the reaction time to close his eyes before the body hits the ground.

A few minutes pass as the reality of the situation sinks into him, sending him into a fairly deep depressive cycle - broken by an emotion somewhere between relief and horror as the thug starts crawling away.

Shizumaru quickly convinces himself that the thug will _surely_ find help, perhaps from a kind maiden who can help him learn the error of his ways, maybe even fall in love and run a prosperous farm and have loads of kids... kind of like a fairy tale, you know?

Then he sees a large red shape moving under the trees, making a somewhat moist sound as it goes.

The wounded man starts crawling as fast as he can (which is to say, not very) in the opposite direction of it, clawing towards the cliff face. The unseen wet noises are now accompanied by a ghoulish and oddly enunciated voice, moaning, "Oohhh, what a _delectable_ meal! I can't _wait_ to sink my teeth into you!"

The thing that finally forces Shizumaru out of his frozen state though was the giant, and far too long to be human, arm reaching out from the forest towards the gravely injured crook.

The now terrified child scrambles back from the edge until his back hits a tree, where he stays, perfectly silent as the monster calls out " _Itadakimasu!!_ " - the thug's final scream soon followed by the cacophony of shredding flesh, squelching guts, and splintering bone. It feels like the beast feeds for hours, but it must have only been minutes before the awful sound ends. Shizumaru doesn't dare move, lest the demon hears him and makes him its next meal.

However, it doesn't matter much as the demon sings "I smell a childly wildly~! My _favorite_!"

The boy immediately sprints towards the bodies of the other two goons, yanking his almost forgotten sword from the neck of the second man, then running back to the woods behind him... _if_ he wasn't tripped up by the (surprisingly, still alive) third 'corpse' grabbing his legs. He falls flat, once again paralyzed out of fear. The sound of the yokai now climbing its way up the cliff's edge for dessert kicks his fight or flight response in overdrive, causing him to repeatedly kick the other in the face until he lets go.

Once freed, he leaves the man where he lays, thinking only to escape. He runs as fast as he can through the woods, not stopping for anything; not for the almost inaudible screams of the crook, not for the branches snapping or the monstrous panting behind him, not for the bears he had to dodge, and not even for the village on the other side of the forest.

When he finally stopped running the next evening, he was

completely,

and utterly,

lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had completely forgotten Yuga's placement in the timeline so I thought Oboro was the Big Bad of the 64 games, but I didn't want to ditch the Orochi reference so yeah  
> it's not gonna be this dark the whole way through I promise  
> also, the bears bitch-slapped Kusaregedo until he decided this wasn't worth the chase  
> (edit from 5 days after release) this chapter's title comes from this https://snk.fandom.com/wiki/Zaniku_no_Natsu which is exponentially more depressing than what I wrote here like seriously, what the fuck


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